Utterdyke 1

Meghan Utterdyke

Professor Sobocinski

ENG 1201

09 July 2020

Literature Review

The topic of research for this essay asks about the impact of pharmacist intervention in

health care scenarios regarding health-related quality of life? This question works to address

the role that a pharmacist plays in the health of a patient. There are many sources that discuss

this topic and can help in writing about this topic. Most of the resources are studies that

provide data regarding the patients’ health with and without pharmacist intervention. The

main take away from most of these articles is that pharmacists have a positive impact on

patients’ health.

One of the main ways that pharmacists make an impact on patients’ health is through an

analysis of their medications to prevent complications. An article published in International

Journal of Clinical Pharmacy states: “Drug-related problems (DRPs) are common in

hospitalized patients with neurological diseases. Clinical pharmacy services could minimize

drug-related harm and improve patient care” (Ali, M.A.S., Khedr, E.M.H., Ahmed, F.A.H. et

al.). This article talks specifically about patients with neurologic disease but this impact applies

to all scenarios. For example, another article studies the same effect on geriatric patients, and the

results also show that a pharmacists’ intervention has a benefit on patient care. This article

specifically talks about the modification of a patients’ drug list on order to provide them with the

best medication for their disease state.

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Like the previous article discusses, a pharmacists’ intervention can likely result in

changes to a patient medication list. This change can also have a big economic impact. An article

from BMC Health Services Research states: “With the interventions of pharmacists, the number

of IPs decreased from 1845 to 238, while the inappropriate percentage decreased from 12.60 to

1.22… The benefit-to-cost ratios of pharmacist interventions were always more than 1” and

“This form of pharmacist intervention constitutes a method that showed positive clinical and

economic benefits and is worth expanding in large hospitals” (Bao, Zhiwei et al.). Like this

article, there is a similar article that discusses the clinical and economic impact a pharmacist has,

and the results are similar. The data from both of these sources shows that pharmacists can also

have an effect in the financial sense of health care, therefore helping with medication costs for

patients, making health care more affordable.

With the intervention of pharmacists, there is also an effect on pharmacy as a whole.

Since the area of patients care and medication review is a growing and essential aspect of

pharmacy, there is a need for pharmacists that specialize in this area. These pharmacists that

work on medication management are called non-dispensing pharmacists, or NDPs. An article

from International Journal of Integrated care says this concerning the huge role of NDPs: “The

impact of NDPs providing integrated care can be explained by 1) the specific expertise NDPs

bring into general practice and the tailored solutions they offer for individual patients, including

deviation from medical protocols when necessary, 2) the reconciliation of interprofessional

tensions caused by overlapping tasks with practice nurses, which results in a distinct patient

population, 3) the conduct of clinical medication reviews aligned to the work processes of the GP

practice and 4) the integration of quality management work into clinical work” (Hazen, Ankie C
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M et al.). This role of NDP is showing its growing need in patient care and certainly proves the

impact that a pharmacist makes in a patient’s health.

Overall, the impact that a pharmacist has on healthcare is vast. There is an impact on the

specific patient health, on the economic side of healthcare, and on the profession of pharmacy as

a whole. The data from all of these sources work to prove these points and back up the impact of

a pharmacist. Based on all the research from these articles, it can be concluded that yes, a

pharmacist’s intervention does have an impact in health care scenarios regarding health-related

quality of life
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Works Cited

Ali, Mostafa A Sayed et al. “Clinical pharmacist interventions in managing drug-related

problems in hospitalized patients with neurological diseases.” International journal of

clinical pharmacy vol. 40,5 (2018): 1257-1264. doi:10.1007/s11096-018-0658-0

Nachtigall, Angela et al. “Influence of pharmacist intervention on drug safety of geriatric

inpatients: a prospective, controlled trial.” Therapeutic advances in drug safety vol. 10

2042098619843365. 16 Apr. 2019, doi:10.1177/2042098619843365

Bao, Zhiwei et al. “Clinical and economic impact of pharmacist interventions on sampled

outpatient prescriptions in a Chinese teaching hospital.” BMC health services research

vol. 18,1 519. 4 Jul. 2018, doi:10.1186/s12913-018-3306-4

Hazen, Ankie C M et al. “How Clinical Integration of Pharmacists in General Practice has

Impact on Medication Therapy Management: A Theory-oriented Evaluation.”

International journal of integrated care vol. 19,1 1. 2 Jan. 2019, doi:10.5334/ijic.3291